Illinois law provided that “when any notice or advertisement shall be required by law, or the order of any court, to be published in any newspaper, the certificate of the printer or publisher, with a written or printed copy of such advertisement annexed, stating the number of papers in which the same shall have been published, and the dates of the first and last papers containing the same, shall be sufficient evidence of the publication therein set forth.” Section fourteen of the railroad’s charter required the directors to give notice of the payments required as least ninety days previous to date of payment, in newspapers in the locations where notice for opening the books for subscriptions had been published. St. Louis, Springfield, and Alton were the cities where the incorporators published notices for subscriptions.

Lincoln references in this and the previous paragraph legal work for the Alton & Sangamon Railroad Company, which had retained Lincoln & Herndon to collect balances due on shares of capital stock purchased by stockholders. The Illinois General Assembly chartered the railroad in February 1847 to construct and operate a railroad between Alton, Illinois, via New Berlin, and Springfield, Illinois. Section two of the company’s charter allowed the incorporators to issue $500,000 in stock at $100 per share, and section six required subscribers to purchase stock by paying $5 on each share subscribed at the time of subscribing and the balance in installments called for by a board of directors. The incorporators opened subscription for stock in May 1847, and James A. Barret purchased thirty shares ($3,000), Joseph Klein, Sr. five shares ($500), and John M. Burkhardt five shares ($500). Barret also owned 4,215 acres of land in southwestern Sangamon County, Illinois, which bordered the proposed route. On January 29, 1851, however, the General Assembly altered the charter to allow the company to construct the road on a more direct route, bypassing the property of several stockholders, including Barret. Believing that the change in route voided their subscription agreements, Barret, Klein, Burkhardt, and other investors refused to pay their remaining installments, and the company hired Lincoln & Herndon to collect the full subscriptions. Barret, Klein, Burkhardt, and several other delinquent subscribers were from Sangamon County, and thirty-seven were from Madison County, Illinois. William Martin was among the incorporators.

Lincoln also planned to bring suit against Sangamon County resident Thomas J. Kirkpatrick, but he wrote Martin on February 19 that Kirkpatrick, like Burkhardt, had paid his installments, and the railroad dismissed its case against him. Lincoln wrote Martin on February 27 that Barret had proposed a settlement where he paid for fifteen shares if the railroad would release him from the other fifteen shares.

Illinois law provided that “when any notice or advertisement shall be required by law, or the order of any court, to be published in any newspaper, the certificate of the printer or publisher, with a written or printed copy of such advertisement annexed, stating the number of papers in which the same shall have been published, and the dates of the first and last papers containing the same, shall be sufficient evidence of the publication therein set forth.” Section fourteen of the railroad’s charter made it “lawful for the directors to require payment of the sums subscribed to the capital stock at such times, and in such proportions, and on such conditions as they shall deem fit,” but required the directors to give notice of the payments required at least ninety days previous to date of payment, in newspapers in the locations where notice for opening the books for subscriptions had been published. St. Louis, Springfield, and Alton were the cities where the incorporators published notices for subscriptions.

Barret refused to settle, and in March 1851, the railroad sued Barret in the Sangamon County Circuit Court in an action of assumpsit to collect the balance due on the thirty shares of capital stock. In November, the court ruled for the railroad, and awarded it $1,351. Barret appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, which affirmed the judgment in December, establishing an important precedent for subsequent stock subscription cases. Justice Samuel H. Treat, who wrote the opinion for the court, relied on Lincoln’s legal citations and argument, reasoning that unforeseen construction problems concerning a public improvement could not be fully known when the General Assembly granted a charter. Therefore, the General Assembly might remedy the situation by amending the charter without the consent of all the incorporators. Treat concluded that a "few obstinate stockholders should not be permitted to deprive the public and the company of the advantages that will result from a superior and less expensive route." The development of Lincoln's argument is clear from letters that Lincoln wrote Martin between March and August 1851. Lincoln wrote Martin an additional ten letters relating to these cases.

In March 1851, the railroad also sued Klein in the Sangamon County Circuit Court in an action of assumpsit to recover five installments totaling $175 on his five shares of stock. In November, the court ruled for the railroad, and awarded it $175. Klein appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, where he was represented by Stephen T. Logan. Logan argued that the subscription was void because Klein, instead of paying the $5 per share subscribed at the time of subscribing, had signed a promissory note for the $25, which he paid before the railroad closed the subscription books. Logan further argued that Klein had the right to rescind the subscription contract by forfeiting his $25. The Supreme Court rejected Logan's arguments and affirmed the judgment. Justice Treat stated that Klein was a subscriber because he paid his promissory note before the railroad closed its subscription books. According to Treat, Klein's "contract was then complete, and his liability fixed." Treat also rejected the forfeiture argument by stating that the "right of forfeiture belongs exclusively to the corporation. It was conferred as an additional remedy, to enforce payment from stockholders." The Klein appeal confirmed the precedent that Lincoln had established in Barret v. Alton and Sangamon Railroad: individuals could not void their stock subscriptions unless there were substantial changes in the corporation charter.